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Latigo Biotherapeutics raises $135 mln for non-opioid pain relievers

Latigo Biotherapeutics emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday and said it had raised $135 million in series A funding to advance clinical trials of its nonopioid pain treatments, including a drug that is being tested in healthy volunteers.

Westlake Village BioPartners, the equity capital (VC) firm that established Latigo, led the financing round. 2 other healthcare and life-sciences focused VCs-- 5AM Ventures and Foresite Capital-- were co-leads.

The Thousand Oaks, California-based business did not disclose the evaluation at which the funds were raised.

The round fetches a rare huge check in an early stage fundraise, where the offer size is generally much smaller. Last year, early stage funding rounds fetched less than $20 million typically, data from PitchBook showed.

This is not your typical series A these days. The funding truly talks to the commitment of the investors, and to this area, said Nancy Stagliano, chair of Latigo's board.

Latigo's lead drug, LTG-001, is being tested in an early phase trial. The drug, intended to treat persistent and acute pain, belongs to the very same class of medicines as a therapy by Vertex Pharmaceuticals that decreased sharp pain in a late-stage study last week.

There's been really little investment and extremely little real development in this area. For Vertex ... to offer proof-of-concept now is substantial for the field, said Sean Harper, co-founding handling director for WestLake.

lots of times, the first-in-class particle does not end up being the dominant best-in-class drug on the marketplace, Harper said, including that there was space for competitors in the still-nascent market.

Latigo's lead drug and Vertex's treatment target a protein called Nav1.8 in an attempt to block discomfort at its source. Opioids activate the brain's reward center as they take a trip through blood, leading to the capacity for addiction and abuse.

(source: Reuters)